doesnt seem that bad for f2p players really.
you can pay to speed up progress but its a pretty expensive way to get high level so I doubt that many do it.
the game really plays itself though even the quests can be auto done by just accepting them and watching your character go about the tasks.
obviously a lot of things start to get easier if you do it the normal way and the auto battle doesnt move away from boss aoes etc so you have to manually control for some encounters, raid bosses in dungeons etc.
the games worth a try just don't waste all the red diamonds it gives you as rewards and buy some inventory spaces with them for when you are afk farming
it is a real MMO though and seems to have all the features you would expect, you will see thousands of people about the world, sometimes in dungeons theres like 100 people afk farming the same spot lol